I have been on both sides: having a startup to pitch, but also being a journalist who needs new news to talk about. Mass e-mailing journalists and issuing form

I have been on both sides: having a startup to pitch, but also being a journalist who needs new news to talk about. Mass e-mailing journalists and issuing formal press releases is obsolete, that's for sure. You need to build a relationship with a few key influencers. The problem is that they tend to behave like deaf people and typically won't answer your e-mails. And being obnoxious is not the way to go past that hurdle. So it takes months of being smart, showing smart, getting to know other people like you, or slightly ahead of you, maybe piggy-backing from other events, etc. If you persevere, eventually you'll get the connections and the coverage.